Fall of Giants: The Century Trilogy, Book 1

Ken Follett's World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic. The first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

A Place Called Freedom

This lush novel, set in 1766 England and America, evokes an era ripe with riot and revolution, from the teeming streets of London to the sprawling grounds of a Virginia plantation. Mack McAsh burns with the desire to escape his life of slavery in Scottish coal mines while Lizzie Hallim is desperate to shed a life of sheltered subjugation to her spineless husband. United in America, their only chance for freedom lies beyond the Western frontier - if they're brave enough to take it.

A Dangerous Fortune

In 1866 tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School when a mysterious accident takes the life of a student. Among the student's circle of friends are Hugh Pilaster; Hugh's older cousin Edward, dissolute heir to the Pilaster banking fortune; and Micky Miranda, the handsome son of a brutal South American oligarchy. The death and its aftermath begin the spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many lives.

Hornet Flight

It's June 1941, and the low point of the war. England throws wave after wave of RAF bombers across the Channel, but somehow the Luftwaffe is able to shoot them down at will. The skies, indeed, the war itself seem to belong to Hitler.

Sarum: The Novel of England

In Sarum, Edward Rutherfurd weaves a compelling saga of five English families whose fates become intertwined over the course of centuries. While each family has its own distinct characteristics, the successive generations reflect the changing character of Britain. We become drawn not only into the fortunes of the individual family members, but also the larger destinies of each family line.

Night over Water

On a bright September morning in 1939, two days after Britain declares war on Germany, a group of privileged but desperate people gather in Southhampton to board the largest, most luxurious airliner ever built - the Pan American Clipper - bound for New York.

On Wings of Eagles

When two of his American employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: American businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, hand-picked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared.

Lie Down with Lions

Ellis, the American. Jean-Pierre, the Frenchman.... They were two men on opposite sides of the cold war, with a woman torn between them. Together, they formed a triangle of passion and deception, racing from terrorist bombs in Paris to the violence and intrigue of Afghanistan - and on to the moment of truth and a deadly decision for all of them.

Shogun: The Epic Novel of Japan: The Asian Saga, Book 1

A bold English adventurer; an invincible Japanese warlord; a beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love - all brought together in an extraordinary saga of a time and a place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust, and the struggle for power.

The Whistler

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. She is a lawyer, not a cop, and it is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption. But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business with a new identity. He now goes by the name Greg Myers, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined.

Cathedral of the Sea

At last: The international best seller - which has already sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide - comes to America! Cathedral of the Sea follows the fortunes of the Estanyol family, from their peasant roots to a son, Arnau, who flees the land only to realize spectacular wealth and devastating problems.

The Winds of War

Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II stands as the crowning achievement of one of America's most celebrated storytellers. Like no other books about the war, Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of global events - and all the drama, romance, heroism, and tragedy of World War II - as it immerses us in the lives of a single American family drawn into the very center of the war's maelstrom.

As the Crow Flies

When Charlie Trumper inherits the barrow his grandfather used to peddle fruit and vegetables in turn-of-the-century Whitechapel, England, he inherits his enterprising spirit as well. Charlie's deeply held ambition to raise himself out of the poverty of London's East End is destined to be realized, but there are many obstacles to overcome, including a tour of duty at the front in World War I, where he encounters the man who will become his lifelong enemy.

The Mists of Avalon

A posthumous recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, Marion Zimmer Bradley reinvented - and rejuvenated - the King Arthur mythos with her extraordinary Mists of Avalon series. In this epic work, Bradley follows the arc of the timeless tale from the perspective of its previously marginalized female characters: Celtic priestess Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and High Priestess Viviane.

Publisher's Summary

In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in 12th-century England that centered on the building of a cathedral and the men, women, and children whose lives it changed forever. Critics were overwhelmed, and readers and listeners ever since have hoped for a sequel.

At last, here it is. Although the two novels may be listened to in any order, World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge.

Three years in the writing, World Without End once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.

For anyone who recently read or listened to Pillars of the Earth, I would suggest waiting a while before starting World Without End. I just listened to the first one two months ago, and I wish I had waited at least year before listening to the second.
At first, I felt as if Follett had used up all his ideas about basic personality traits and plot ideas in Pillars, and in the second book just mixed them around, assigning them to different characters (good monk becomes bad monk, bullying, jealous builder (Alfred) appears in a new family, etc). The plot "twists," this time much more predictable, and other obstacles were also all too familiar, but each with a new outcome or resolution. After about 20 hours of that, the plot finally took off and became a new story in its own right, and it was a lot more interesting and engrossing. Since it's so long, that still left me with about 30 good hours, but it would have been a lot more enjoyable if my memory of the first book had been dimmer.

Pillars of the Earth is a very entertaining and compelling story told with great narration, but this book is almost a mirrow image of the above mentioned book, narration is good, story is very similar.
If you listen to one, perhaps you should by-pass the second one, in my opinion, Pillars of the Earth is by far the better book

If you have read or listened to “Pillars of The Earth”, you will not be disappointed with World Without End. It is yet another masterpiece from Ken Follett that – despite its length – is an easy and rewarding experience. No other author can mix history, drama, love, battle and suspense like him.

World without End follows a number of characters in Kingsbridge during 40 years – beginning approximately 200 years after the end of Pillars of the Earth. It is therefore not a prerequisite to have read this book first.

I have now almost 200 audio books under my belt – and this is one of the best ones. After the usual first listening hour with confusions about all the characters that are introduced, the remaining 47 hours is pure and utter joy.

I really look forward to a third book about Kingsbridge – which Ken Follett has indicated might come in a few years.

I almost forgot: The narrator John Lee is just outright brilliant, with his pleasant and mellow voice.

I have been a Ken Follett fan since the first time I picked up one of his thrillers and Pillars of the Earth has been one of my favorites. Now I have a new favorite. The richness of the characters as well as the historical detail have me hooked. I am almost done listening and will listen again just to enjoy all the nuances of the richly developed characters.

Pillars has been my favorite book of all time since I first read it 7 years ago. WWE does not disappoint. I love Ken's books for the rich charecter development and strong females, who I can relate to, who question and reject irrational tradition in favor of scientific, logical reasoning. The historical aspects make the book so fascinating. I wish it was a book "without end", because I was sad to have finished it. My new favorite book.

The book has many of the virtues and flaws of Pillars of the Earth, but the story seems less inspired, more like Follet is using the same pattern without the same inspiration.

Overall, his setting, as in the first book, is impressive, and he has successfully advanced the setting to the 14th century. His understanding of architecture and building techniques are just as intricate as Pillars, and his knowledge of the economy and law of the fourteenth century medieval village is more sophisticated than his previous work, and he creates dramas that impressively illustrate and enlighten dry medieval economics and law. Well worth the read.

The characters and stories and dramas, though, sound more like he's trying to recreate "Pillars of the Earth" than like he was inspired to create something new. Same complicated romances, same manipulative power struggles, same unconscionably ambitous nobles and clergy. They are good stories, but even more superficial than in the first, and just as 20th century, rather than medieval.

His characters do deal with specifically fourteenth century medieval issues in this book, such as the changing roles of women in society, or the transition from superstition to a more scientific world view. This is well done especially in the sections about the Black Death.

Some reviews have said Caris seems too modern, but there were women in that era struggling for more independence. Women in fourteenth century towns were guild members and business owners and council members, and maybe even fighters, and often female monasteries offered a path to power that women couldn't find in the secular world, and nuns were conscious of this role, judging from medieval sources. Follet did his research there.

Overall, good research, good medieval setting, but somewhat mechanical storytelling.

While the first book might have been believable, assuming certain suspension of disbelief, here the main characters are XXI century creatures masquerading for medieval monks and nuns. Characters are two-dimensional, bad ones are cartoonish incapable of good deeds, while good ones are painfully anachronistic. The author's understanding of the period is sadly misguided, for example it is rather unlikely that XIV century wealthy person would want to go to a hospital, unless of course the reason was to commit a suicide. Finally, the actions moves in a cyclic and quite tiresome manner. The only good thing is that the story is engaging and moving forward in a steady pace, so as long as one does not treat the medieval setting too seriously, the plot line can be quite engaging.

I'm not sure how I can adequately express just how much I enjoyed this book. I was slightly put off by the length - not sure if I could get through 40 hours. By the end, I was slightly sad to realize my time with this fascinating community of people was coming to an end. I read "The Pillars of the Earth" many years ago, so I can't make too much of a close comparison. This book accurately portrays like in Medieval England, from food and housing to medicine and lifestyles. The story deals with a time of change - not only the beginning of the 100 Years War, but the end of the Dark Ages, and a huge change in labor and aristocracy brought on by the beginning of the Plague.
Well worth the time and such and enjoyable book. The characters are real and believeable, and you'll find yourself sad to leave Kingsbridge once again at the end.